CM Unwana Eugene Number one Ranked chess player (Nigeria)
Nigeria parades a great number of Chess talents among African countries and in fact in the world. Chess is a gentle man's game, just as prestigious as the game of GOLF, it tends to improve a persons Cognitive and analytic capabilities in fact some great rulers were said to have used strategies akin to that gotten from the game of chess to rule great kingdoms and superior military officers in the strongest super powers in the world use chess strategies. Children who play chess has been proved to do better at mathematics and aptitude tests !! a 14 year old SAMUEL SEVIAN yesterday defeated the USA number two ranked Chess player and number eight in the world at the US chess championship!! so chess cuts across all ages !! Unfortunately Nigeria with all the chess talents and with a population of more than 150 million people is yet to produce a single Chess Grand master. International master Oladapo Adu (Nigeria) in March 2015 , Last month qualified for the CHESS WORLD cup in Russia later this year. He qualified by Winning the 2015 Zone 4.4 Individual Chess Championships - Open held in Togo a tournament featuring players from six countries , CM KIGIGHA Bomo who is the current national Champion came second at the event while the 17 year old Nigerian chess wizard Daniel Anwuli and CM UNWANA Eugene Ekpoikong Who is currently the Nigerian number one ranked chess player tied for third place.
South Africa got their First ever Grand Master less than six months ago . Grand Master Solomon Kenny, his rapid rise from aspiring talent to chess hero was fuelled by a sponsorship from a Company.
Solomon, 32, had approached many companies with requests for sponsorship, writing letters and meeting executives in an attempt to get funding to attend major chess tournaments, many of which take place in Europe.
A serendipitous meeting with a director of South African Bunkering and Trading through a friend and fellow chess player led to a low-key get-together over coffee in 2009, where Solomon was able to explain his goal of becoming a grand master.
Despite there being practically no overlap in fields — SABT is a marine fuel supplier, not a consumer brand — the company decided to sponsor Solomon fully for 2009. Solomon won the gold medal at the 2014 African Individual Chess Championship, held in Windhoek, Namibia, in December, to become South Africa’s first grandmaster. [/i]
It is very pertinent to note that CM Balogun, Oluwafemi who is currently number 12 ranked Nigerian chess player defeated GM Solomon Kenny at a major tournament at Gibraltar in January this year, this goes to buttress the point that Nigerian chess talents will become the pride of Africa if they are exposed to the kind of Corporate sponsorship GM kenny is getting . see below Picture of GM Solomon's having the crest of the Sponsoring Company on his shirt. The name of SABT is for ever written in Gold. The 2015 African Individual Chess Championship will be coming up in may 2015 , in Egypt , Our Chess Talents sure needs corporate backing if they are to make Nigeria Proud and indeed take their rightful place as a WORLD power and the pride of Africa at the Royal Intellectual Game of Chess .
Akinov is a Chess promoter and Brand Marketer .
The Players when sponsored by a Company /corporate body will always wear the Company's Logo and are ready to teach young Children the beautiful game of Chess, free blindfold and simultaneous exhibition just to mention a few.
CM UNWANA Eugene Ekpoikong MALE [i]Currently the Number one chess player in Nigeria [/i]at the moment at a rating of ELO 2321. he is fondly called THE WILD due to his unique attacking skills which is akin to that of the great Grand master Tal , he shot into the Nigerian Chess limelight when he won three competitive tournaments in a row within a period of less than two months !! His talent is rare and he is an exceptional player who has proved himself a genius both within Nigeria and recently in Togo, we sure need a player of his caliber at 2015 African Individual Chess Championship slated for Egypt one month from now.
SABT managing director Jon Hughes said the company had become hooked on the chess sponsorship idea, with a current plan to find ways to support the development of a chess academy, including with other partnerships.
The sponsorship of Solomon will remain open-ended.
Solomon’s goals are similar. “I would like to start a chess foundation in South Africa and be involved with producing more grandmasters in my country and, possibly, one day a world chess champion.”
Solomon’s goals are similar. “I would like to start a chess foundation in South Africa and be involved with producing more grandmasters in my country and, possibly, one day a world chess champion.”